You're reading: Fomin claims Prosecutor General’s Office denied him right to defend Kuchma

Lawyer Ihor Fomin has said that the Prosecutor General's Office has issued a resolution denying him the right to defend second Ukrainian President Leonid Kuchma (1994-2005).

"They provided a letter showing that a resolution was issued to withdraw me from participation as a defense lawyer in the current criminal case," he told journalists in Kyiv on Wednesday.

Earlier, Kuchma announced such intentions by the Prosecutor General’s Office and noted that thus he had been deprived of his right to a full defense.

"I strongly disagree with that… Well, we’ll see if there are really grounds to withdraw [the lawyer from defending me], I will be again obliged to take a break from having a face-to-face [with former Major Mykola Melnychenko] in order to find another lawyer," he said.